Some real nice coverage to close out 2011…

Some really nice shout-outs to close the year!

  • First up, the comic above, by Greg Dean that we were kinda tickled by. Thanks for your support, Greg, we hope you munched all the santa hats you could manage :)
  • Second, everyone’s favorite productivity blog, Lifehacker, chose us as best turn-by-turn nav app for iPhone *and* best turn-by-turn nav app for Android. :::Totally blushing:::
  • And lastly, we’ve been Scobblized once again – Robert Scoble, who’s always been a great Waze champion, put us in his 10 ten of the year! Take a peek at who the other 9 are to make sure you’re on the board with the most exiting apps of the year…

That’s it for now – happy happy, joy joy to you and yours…


End of the year summary: 10 million users and lotsa happy faces over here…

Looking back over the last year finds us with quite the smile on our faces. What can we say? It’s extremely gratifying to put in so much effort each day, and to actually see it translate into tangible results – and now that we’re closing out the year, we’re happy to report 10 million registered users, worldwide! And the best part? You guys aren’t just passive users who log in now and then, you’re people who really love our product and use it all the time, and that makes us super happy. :)

Looking in the metaphorical rearview mirror is cool because when we look at the cumulative numbers, they kinda boggle our minds. Can you imagine that by working together, the global Waze community saved one another nearly 4 million hours of commuting time?! We estimate that to be close to 6 million gallons of gas saved, and we all know the world can use a bit of a break in that regard.

But what’s more? You guys weren’t just in it for yourselves, you’re working hard to build and strengthen your local driving communities so that everyone benefits from common good out there on the road, and that’s awesome. We see this by the more than 25 million road reports you filed in 2011 - a 10 fold boost from 2010 – giving other Wazers nearby a heads-up as to what’s ahead. Respect!

Anyhoo, we’re just getting going over here, so stay tuned, as we expect big things in 2012, too. We’re already drawing up plans for lots of the improvements you’ve been waiting for, and have a bunch more magic up our sleeve… In the meantime, check out a little clip above that we made for you that reviews where we’re at, and more than anything, we wish all of you guys a bright and dazzling year to come!


Waze featured in top 5 Navigation apps of the year in the Appstore!

Holy Canoli! The App Store’s always been good to us, but this week we got an early holiday present when we were voted one of the top 5 apps of the year in the Navigation category on the App Store Rewind 2011! We’re super excited to be honored in this way and are also looking forward to the tons of new users a feature like this has the capacity to bring into your local driving communities,  so make sure to keep your eyes open for new baby Wazers out there, and do your part to welcome them into the fold :-)


Waze is Coming to TV Stations Near You!

GOOOOOOOOD MOOORNING Wazers!

It’s true that you might prefer to hear that from your witty, attractive, out-of-your-league morning traffic reporter. Well good news, because as of today, there’s a good chance you will.

That’s right, you heard it here first: Waze is officially partnering with ABC & BELO stations nationwide to be a part of the morning traffic! First cities up are San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas, & Los Angeles.

What does that mean for you? No more sitting on the sidelines! Join your local news station’s traffic group e.g. ABC7 Traffic Watchers in LA, or WFAA Traffic Spotters in Dallas, and you could have your report read live on TV! That same traffic reporter might even say YOUR NAME. #SomeDreamsAreForReal

And remember- if you want your morning news to start using Waze, then send them a letter, call them, tweet them. Tell them to check out www.Waze.Tv (nifty, eh?)

We’re just happy to deliver your morning awesome.

Wanna see how it works? Lookie lookie:


Win 4 free plane tickets to anywhere in the world in the ‘With Waze You’re Going Places’ Contest!

Alrighty guys, here’s a real good one…

So, you already know how Waze is all about getting you to where you wanna go in the smartest way possible, but now we wanna ask you that question on a bigger scale: Where do you want to go around the GLOBE?! Dream big cause now’s your chance to snag a ticket to anywhere in the world for you + three friends! (Up to a $2000 value, each, if all four of you are registered Waze users before February 1, 2012)

It’s suuuuper simple to participate, all you have to do is:

  • Click here to log in to the ‘With Waze You’re Going Places’ contest app on Facebook. Note that you’ll need to like the Waze FB page to get going, if you haven’t already…
  • Create a group of three friends and invite them to participate with you in the contest. Note that this part is in two steps – you’ll first need to select the friends from your friend list to create the group, then you’ll need to click each of their pictures individually to send an actual invite. When all three of your friends log in to the contest app, your group will be complete.
  • (Optional) Have each of your +3s become a registered Waze user before February 1, 2012. This will up your budget from $1500 to $2000 each, if your group is selected as the winner.

That’s all there is to it! The best part about it all? You can enter as many times as you want to increase your chances to win, each time with a new group of +3s. So, whatcha waiting for? Start creating your groups right now!

Note that the winners will be announced on February 2, 2012 on the Waze Facebook page…

And now, the fine print:

ELIGIBILITY:You must be 18 years of age or older to enter the Waze Inc. (Hereby “Waze”) ‘Going Places’ contest. PERIOD: Waze’s ‘Going Places’ contest runs from 12:01AM EST on December 8, 2011 thru February 1, 2012 23:59 EST. PARTICIPATION: Participants must have a Facebook profile that reflects their real name to take part in the contest. Any participant has the right to cancel his or her participation in the contest by clicking the ‘Remove App’ button. Note that a person can join more than one group but the same person cannot join the same group more than once. Different Facebook accounts for the same person within one group will disqualify the whole group. PRIZE RESTRICTIONS: Winners will be picked at random on January 2, 2012. The four winners do not need to travel to the same destination at the same time, but must book their ticket within 6 months of winning prize. Prize is for flight only. Any amount left over will be void. Each winner is responsible for any applicable taxes. Prizes listed are subject to its general availability on the market. In the event of non-availability on the market, Waze will provide a similar or equal compensation. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: By participating, participants agree to release, discharge and hold harmless Waze and its partners, affiliates, subsidiaries, agents and their employees, officers, directors, and representatives from any claims, losses, and damages arising out of their participation in this contest or any contest related activities and the acceptance and use, misuse, or possession of any prize awarded hereunder. Waze reserves the right under its sole discretion, to cancel, suspend or modify the terms of the contest, in whole or in part; and the right to disqualify any participant in the event of tempering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes which in Waze sole opinion corrupt or effect the fairness, integrity, legality or proper conduct of the contest.  CONDITIONS: This contest is subject to federal, state, provincial, territorial and local laws and regulations. Certain restrictions may apply. Void where prohibited. Waze makes no warranty of any kind, express or implied, directly or indirectly, regarding the prize delivery and Waze is not responsible for prize delivery being late, lost, stolen, damaged, mutilated, incomplete, illegible, misdirected, or postage-due. Participants also agree (a) to be bound by these Official Rules; (b) that the decisions of the judges are final on all matters relating to the contest and (c) In the event that the selected winner(s) of any prize are/is ineligible or refuses the prize, the prize will be forfeited and Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may choose whether to award the prize to another winner. GOVERNING LAW/DISPUTE RESOLUTION: This contest shall be governed by and interpreted under the laws of the State of New York without regard to the conflict of laws doctrine of any jurisdiction; and any disputes, claims or causes of action shall be resolved only in a state or federal court located in the County of New York, State of New York. Any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of pocket costs incurred and under no circumstances will participants be permitted to obtain awards for and participants hereby waive all rights to claim, punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages other than for actual out-of-pocket costs and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased.


Vote for Waze as 2011’s ‘Most Useful Mobile App’ in the Mashable Awards!

So, we’ve been at it for a few years now and you might think that when we’re nominated for awards it’s old hat for us, but nothing could be further from the truth. We’re excited each time, like the first time, and such is the case when we saw that we were a Finalist in the 5th Annual Mashable Awards, going head-to-head for the title ‘Most Useful Mobile App’ of the year! We’d be very grateful if you’d take a second to register your support over on the Mashable Awards with a quick click on us in our category. You can sign in with your Twitter or Facebook credentials and have the option to not publish it into your feed, if you don’t want to. Per usual, we’re doling out extra karma points back your way, in gratitude for your effort. Thanks in advance, Wazefolk!


All hail the Chief(s)! A report from the European Mega Wazers Meet-up in Paris…

This past weekend, we gathered our top users across Europe for our very first Mega Wazers Meet up – check out a few of our Waze royalty arriving to the event, above. Four Waze team members were joined by over 20 of the most active users in Europe, representing communities in France, The Netherlands, Hungary, Czech Republic, England, Scotland and Italy – including the world’s #1 Wazer, asterix06.

So, why’d we gather our top users together? ‘Cause the Waze driving community is truly the heart of what we do, and it was important for us to hear some face-to-face feedback from the people who know our product the best and spend the most time contributing to their local driving communities.

Overall, it was a great success. We got important insight into what’s on the mind of our top contributors and got a chance to fill them in on what’s going on over here at Waze, as well as our plans for the future. We also saw how important it is for us to maintain direct communication with these top contributors and hope to have other meet-ups, for other communities around the world, in the future.

French user, Jabou, live tweeted the event, so if you’d like to see his tweets, you can search Twitter with the hashtag #wazemeet to see updates from the event. Thanks also to Dave Langley for his great documentation, above and below! :) More pics found on our FB page, here.


Want to make a difference for someone this Thanksgiving?

As we’re getting ready to gather ’round the table and count our blessings, now’s an appropriate time to lend a hand to those less fortunate, don’t you think?

Here’s one way to do your part: simply ’Like’ the Waze FB page (if you haven’t already) and ‘Share’ the specific FB post with the above graphic on your wall by clicking the ‘Share’ button on the bottom of the post. From today through to the end of the day on November 24, for each ‘Share’, we’ll donate 25 cents to Feeding America (up to $5,ooo), for the benefit of those who face food insecurity not just on Turkey Day, but every day. Doing your part is as easy as a quick click of the mouse – we hope you guys will join us to help make a difference this holiday season!


Join us in the car – and on Google Plus!

Posting this a bit late, but didya catch the clip that our friend, Robert Scobble, posted about us? It’s a great driving demo featuring some behind the scenes Waze folk – Michal on the wheel, Ehud to the left in back, Yael in the middle, and Di-Ann, far right. It’s a bit long, but click on the image above to watch it all and get the full scoop on driving with v 3.0, plus you’ll get a chance to meet some of the people who’re part of the team working to make Waze the best it can be every single day.

And if seeing the faces behind the names gets you feelin’ all warm and fuzzy, and you wanna connect further, good news – Waze is now on Google Plus, so you might want to consider joining us over there. We’re just getting going , but with your participation, it’ll be another good way to stay connected to all things Waze…


Let’s talk technicals – a letter from Waze’s CTO…

So, as you know Waze v 3.0 for iPhone has been out a few weeks and we’ve gotten great feedback from many of you, which is great. There were also some more critical comments…questioning our decision to redesign the client and add a few new features, seemingly at the expense of stabilizing our app’s infrastructure – and we take this feedback seriously, especially since they come from some of our most committed users.

In response, Ehud Shabtai, our co-founder and CTO has written up a post in the Waze forum that addresses these issues and gives a bit of a peek ‘behind the curtain’ as to what’s happening on the more technical side of things. If that’s your bag, make sure to read Ehud’s post, and leave  any feedback you may have. Rest assured, we’re listening to everything that you guys have to say!